Articles
December 2, 2024
Why Parents Love the Award-Winning Smart Kid School Bag 3.0
Published on December 4, 2024 | by DSGN arcHive
From ergonomic comfort to intuitive organisation, this bag ticks more boxes than you can imagine!
What makes a school bag a hit for both parents and kids? For the team at PUGO Co. Ltd. Taiwan, it’s all about mixing smart design with everyday practicality. Enter the Smart Kid School Bag 3.0, designed by Hannah Chen, which grabbed attention at the Singapore Good Design Awards 2024 in the Product Design category. This isn’t your average backpack—it’s modular, ergonomic, and honestly pretty genius. It’s designed to help kids stay organised, support their learning, and even promote good posture. Exactly what we parents need, right? After all, with so many pricey, inefficient bags out there, it’s a relief to find one that actually works. And with the new school year just around the corner, now’s the perfect time to invest in a bag that makes life a little easier.
We caught up with the PUGO design team to chat about the inspiration behind this award-winning design. From mountaineering-inspired weight distribution to clever storage solutions, find out how this bag is changing the game for both kids and their parents. Keep reading for all the juicy details!
Smart Kid School Bag 3.0
1. Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the Smart Kid School Bag 3.0 and what motivated the design of a bag specifically aimed at promoting intelligent organisation and learning for children?
The inspiration for this concept originates from the daily experiences of the brand’s designer as a parent. During her child’s educational journey, she studied the usage environment and developed a product that focuses on allowing children to intuitively organize their belongings, enabling more efficient organization while studying. Structurally, it draws inspiration from the back structure of a mountaineering backpack to ensure that children can carry it without feeling burdened on their way to school. With its modular design, children can easily switch functional bags according to their classroom requirements.
2. What were the key challenges or issues with existing school bags that sparked the need to innovate this design?
Traditional backpacks often make it feel like diving into the depths of the ocean when searching for items among textbooks and belongings. Our backpack, however, is carefully designed to provide structured space, allowing children to place items and textbooks clearly and categorize them effectively. Our design principles perfectly align with our brand’s core values, focusing on the concept of “people-centered, born from needs.” We address problems head-on and work towards solving them. Through this iterative thinking process and process improvements, we aim to reduce the storage-related challenges people face in their daily lives and enhance.
3. The concept of pendulum-shaped weight distribution is quite unique. How was this idea developed?
It draws inspiration from the back structure of a mountaineering backpack. The groundbreaking detachable butterfly-style shoulder strap design places the weight core at the center of the spine. This innovative approach ensures that even when the weight inside the backpack is uneven, it won’t lead to uneven shoulder loading or the development of high or low shoulders. By utilizing hook and loop fasteners and woven straps tailored to a child’s height, the weight is adjusted to the appropriate position. Combined with the curved back design, each component adheres closely to a child’s body curves, with the goal of facilitating balanced development of muscles and bones as the child grows.
4. When designing the internal storage space, what key factors were considered to make the bag more intuitive and adaptable for children’s changing needs?
The Smart Kid School Bag 3.0 offers multifunctional storage with adjustable partitions to accommodate varying numbers of textbooks and elastic bands to secure items. A large mesh bag on the top cover efficiently stores jackets and other essentials, while the clearly visible mesh storage bags inside the front cover help children sort their belongings effectively. Its modular design features push-buttons on the outside of the front cover, a removable handle, a patterned front panel, and interchangeable accessories for added functionality. Additionally, the innovative butterfly-style strap allows the load-bearing position to be adjusted to suit a child’s height, ensuring comfort and proper weight distribution.
5. What was the thought process behind the adjustable dividers, and how does this feature enhance the user experience, particularly for children who may need flexibility in packing?
The school bag is an important companion for children when they go to school, not only sharing the weight of knowledge, but also serving as a friend who carries memories. We expect it to be both functional and beautiful, and we pay great attention to every detail of its design. The main purpose of the schoolbag is to allow children to intuitively store items and complete the storage more efficiently in learning. The structure adopts the concept of the back structure of the mountaineering bag, so that there is no burden on the way to school. The appearance is mainly simple shape, with modular snap button design, so that children can change the shape and functional accessories at will according to personal preferences.
6. How was form and function balanced when designing a school bag that is both stylish and practical for kids to use daily?
The exterior design of the Smart Kid School Bag 3.0 is based on the concept of minimalistic aesthetics, combining style with practicality. The top cover is designed to open conveniently for children, featuring a zipper closure positioned to enhance theft prevention. The front cover is designed to fully open, offering a clear view of the contents when storing items. For added comfort, the shoulder straps and back feature curved lines that follow ergonomic principles.
7. What role did feedback from children, parents, or educational experts play during the design and conceptualisation of the Smart Kid School Bag 3.0?
Today, primary school curricula are becoming increasingly diverse, coupled with after-school tutoring and extracurricular activities, resulting in heavier burdens on children’s backpacks. As the demand for textbooks remains unabated, there’s a growing emphasis on designing backpacks with lightweight and spine-supporting features. Research has revealed that each child has a unique height and body type, requiring different optimal positions for carrying loads. Additionally, an imbalance in the weight distribution of backpacks can lead to issues like uneven shoulders and spinal curvature. In response, we have developed a detachable butterfly-style adjustable strap system, placing the load core at the center of the spine and adjusting it to accommodate children of varying heights.
8. Looking ahead, how do you envision the evolution of children's school bags, and what impact do you hope the Smart Kid School Bag 3.0 will have on shaping future designs in this category?
Smart Kid School Bag 3.0 Plus aims to promote smart storage and smart learning for children. Its design encourages the development of good self-management habits in everyday life.
Since its launch in Taiwan in May 2023, the Smart Kid School Bag 3.0 Plus has been exported to Malaysia, Hong Kong, and South Korea (having received KC certification in Korea). To date, total sales have exceeded 6,000 units, and it has become the co-branded backpack of choice for well-known kindergartens in Taiwan. We offer a three-year warranty service for all sold backpacks, providing free repairs for any issues not caused by human damage. Even after the warranty period has expired, we continue to offer comprehensive repair services at reasonable prices, ensuring that our backpacks do not become disposable items once they are old or damaged.
And that’s a wrap! Huge thanks to PUGO Co. Ltd. design team for sharing these interesting insights with us.
If you’re a designer with a standout project ready to make its mark, now’s your chance! Enter the SG Good Design Awards and let your work shine in the spotlight—click the link to find out more!
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